Can carrier clip forming machine



Feb. 2, 1965 G. T. ERICKSON ETAL 3,167,315

CAN CARRIER cu FORMING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 20, 1961 GERALD I ERICKSON RICHARD ERICKSON INVENTORS BY ZIW Wm 4 ATTORNEYS Feb. 2, 1965 e. T. ERICKSON' ETAL 3,167,815

CAN CARRIER CLIP FORMING MACHINE Filed Oct. 20, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l M; :w l V q. & 1i

l w @i [L 1mm mmm' m -9 EJ111111] mum} v Q. 0111]] Illllllll! l a H 5 E I l a 3:: H EEHEEL lllllllhi j GERALD T. ERICKSON RICHARD ERICKSON INVENTORS may" lllil mmlm Ii BY fc fi/uu, hm 'Z'o ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofitice 3,167,815 latented Feb. 2, 1965 Filed Get. 20, 1961, Ser. No. 146,635 6 Ciairns. (Cl. 18-19) This invention relates to an automatic machine for continuously feeding can carrier clip blanks and forming clips from these blanks while the clips are continuously being fed.

A can carrying clip constructed of a single piece of sheet material such as sheet metal or sheet plastic and formed to provide opposing feet with interconnecting inside portions is disclosed in US. application Serial No. 63,580, filed October 19, 1960. This can carrier clip is quite effective for holding a plurality of cans in a single bundle and providing a carrying means therefor and is also very inexpensive to construct from a single blank of material.

For ease in shipping, and handling, it is highly desirable that the blanks, from which the can carrier clip is constructed, be shipped flat and then they can be set up or formed into their final can holding shape just prior to the time that the cans are inserted into the clip.

A machine for automatically orienting cans and continuously inserting the oriented cans in the can carrier clip of Serial No. 63,580 is disclosed in our prior application Serial No. 146,641 filed October 20, 1961. In this prior application, reference is made to automatically feeding can carrier blanks into which oriented cans are automatically and continuously inserted. The present invention provides a machine for continuously teeding ttlat can carrier clip blanks one at a time and continuously forming these flat blanks into three dimensional can carrier clips during continuous feeding movement thereof. The continuously moving clips may then be fed into the can insertion machine for the cans to be automatically and continuously inserted therein, all in a single continuous flow of the clips and cans.

Since it is highly desirable to ship and transport the can carrier blanks in tfiat two dimensional form {from a point of manufacture to a point of can assembly therein, and since it is further advantageous to feed the cans and clips for assembly in a continuous movement, it is the primary object of this invention to provide an automatic can carrier clip forming machine which is continuous in operation and which is capable of continuously forming can carrier clips from flat blanks which are fed one at a time.

A better understanding of the invention together with funther objects and advantages thereof will be further understood from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the can carrying clip afiter being formed into its final can carrying form;

FIG, 2 is a perspective view of the entire machine for teeding the clip blanks and completely forming the clip and :feeding the formed clips in spaced relation for further use such as assembly with a plurality of cans;

FIG. '3 is a. side elevation view of the machine as shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation view on slightly enlarged scale and partially in section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged side sectional elevational view illustrating the can carrier clip blank hopper and the feed of the clips therefrom one at a time.

In general, the can carrier clip forming machine of this invention includes a hopper for storing the flat clip blanks and a conveyor for positively feeding the blanks from the hopper one at a time. The positively fed blanks are then formed as they are positively moved by the conveyor, the forming being first to form one set of feet in the blanks and then form another set of feet in the blanks by stationary members positioned adjacent the moving conveyor. The preferred and described embodiment will be formed of an inexpensive plastic material which may easily be formed after heat softening. Suitable heating means are pnovide'd at the required stages just prior to forming to suitably soften the blank tor the forming operation.

Referring specifically to the drawings, in FIG. 1 a can carrier clip 10 substantially similar to that shown in aforesaid application Serial No. 63,580 is shown. The can carrier clip '10 when formed includes an upstanding inside portion 16 integrally connected to a pair of feet '12 and 14 parallel to one another and formed in planes at right angles to the inside portion 16. Each of the feet have holes 15 and :17 therein for the purpose of grasping the carrier with the :finger for carrying. For engaging the cans the edges of the feet may be formed downwardly at a later date or may have suitable projections thereon as disclosed in the aforesaid application.

It is, of course, much more convenient to ship packaging devices such as boxes and the like in a knocked down or fiat condition. The same holds true for the blanks from which the can carrier clip is formed. In the present invention a plurality of flat two dimensional blanks 18 may be loaded into a hopper 22 to be fed therefrom one at a time and continuously formed into the upstanding clip shown in FIG. 1.

To aid in continuously feeding the clip blanks 18 one at a time in a positive manner, the blanks are fed from the hopper 22 on a moving conveyor belt 24 which is backed by a suitable table-like support 26, For engaging these blanks positively and moving them, a suitable plug 28 of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the finger holes and 17 is provided. The height of the plug is equal to the width of the belt 24 at the plug position plus an additional amount slightly less than the thickness of one of the blanks 18. The plug 28 is secured to a spring 36 which normally biases the plug to the position shown in FIG. 5. The plug and spring 30 are secured to the belt 24- by a rivet 32 or the like and may extend upwardly through the belt 2 4 at hole 32. To prevent skewing of the blank, the plug would be non-circular or two side-by-side plugs would be provided. A stationary cam surface 35 on the end of table 24 suitably related to the hopper 22 and the position of the blanks 18 therein is provided for camming the plug 28 upwardly into one or both of the rear holes in the blank to cause the blank to move out of the hopper. The forward end of the hopper 22 includes a wall 23 which terminates a distance above the top of the belt 24 slightly greater than the width of one of the blanks 18 so that only the bottom blank is fed out by the belt. The coefiicient of ifriction between the top surface of the belt and the bottom of the plastic blanks 18 is such that the blanks will not slip out of the hopper carried by the belt 24 unless they are positively engaged by plugs 28 or the like.

Outside of the hopper overlying the belt 24 at one edge thereof there is a suitable runner 36. Runner 36 extends the entire length of the machine a shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and includes outwardly extending portions 38 which are secured to the table support 26 by screws 39 or the like. A ledge 41 on the under surface of the runner 36 for-ms a space between the bottom surface of the runner 36 and the top of the belt 24, and'this space accommodates one end of the blanks 18 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. The rail 36 may include a heating element 40 in its inner surface along a portion thereof for the purpose of heating the can carrier blanks 18 as they pass thereunder. The purpose of such heating is to soften the plastic blank at a line of bending to enable the blank to be formed more I easily. If the plastic is a type that may be formed Without heating, of course, the heating element would not be necessary.

Secured to the table 26 on the side of the conveyor 1 24 opposite the rail 36 is a clip raiser rail 42 which rises from the plane of the belt 24 or therebelow upwardly underneaththe blank 18 as it is moved with the other end of the blank secured under the runner 36 to gradually raise the blank as it is being positively fed by the conveyor belt 24. The contacting surface of the raiser rail 4-2 continues to erect the inside'portion 16' and the upper feet 12 of the blank,vuntil the blank is bent with the lower feet at right angles to theremainder of the erected blank and 'thefront edge of theclip raiser rail 42 is vertically above the inside edge of the retaining runner 36.

is secured to the clip raiser rail 42. The top folding, runner includes an inclined leading edge 43 for gradually contacting the vertically standing upper feet portion 12 of the blank and gradually folding the blank to the final blank passes under the stationary top folding runner 46 it is completely formed as shown in FIG. 2 and is ready for the further operation of can packaging. Of course,

i at a can packaging station the top feet and the bottom feet of the blank could be formed slightly inwardly to form inwardly extending projections for engaging the cans behind the chimes and holding them in to the clip if desired. Also, although the can carrier blank has been applied to the disclosed preferred embodiment, it Will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited onlyas indicated by the scope of the/following claims.

\Vhat We claim is:

l. A can carrier clip forming machine for automatically and continuously forming can carrier,clips withopposing feet on opposite ends of a central connecting portion from iiat blanks, the machine comprising; means for feeding can carrier clip blanks from a stack of fiat blanks one ata time, conveyor means for continuously transporting the blanks in fixed spaced apart relationship, a retaining runner overlying one edge of the conveyor and the blanks positioned therein with the edge ofthe runner at. a bend line in one foot of the blank, a heating element in the retaining runner for heating the blank to a forming temperature in the vicinity of the bend point as the blanks are being transported bycthe. conveyor means thereunder,

a clip raising rail positioned on the side of the conveyor form as the blank is being continuously fed. After the opposite the retaining runner gradually raising and approaching the edgeof the runner in the direction of movement ofthe conveyor means sothat the rail contacts the clip blank and forces the clip blank to bend at its heated bend line to create one foot on the blank and leave the remaining portion of. the blank upstanding, another heating element'in the edge of the clip raiser rail contacting the upstanding partially formed blank and heating this portion of the blank in the area of a bend line for forming a top foot, and a stationary top folding runner overillustrated as preferred embodiment for forming clip blanks made of plastic, it can be seen that the blanks could also be operable on clip blanks made of metal providing the metal was not unduly springy. In such a case,

it would be possible to eliminate theheating elements.

In operation, a package of clips 18, which have been formed by any suitable operation to the blank form and i are flat or two dimensional, are positioned in hopper 22'; The conveyor 24 starts movingand at the time the spring '30 contacts the stationary cam on table 26, plug 28 may be moved upwardly and to the rear hole or holes of the blank and a single blank moved out under the limited opening in the front Wall 23 in'the hopper 22. The blank is positively fed by the conveyor 24 and the plug 28-along the entire length of the machine. While being fed, the retaining runner 36 holdsone set of feet 14 of the can carrier clip while the clip is being heated by heating element 4% prior to forming. The clip raiser rail 4-2 contacts the clip from the underside and gradually raises the clip as it is being moved and While it has been heated to move the inside portion 16'into a plane at right angles with the lower feet portion 14. After this has been accomplished during continuing moving of the clip, the top portion of the clip is heated by heating element 44. Then the top folding runner 46 contacts the clip with its inclined leading edge 48 to fold the top of the clip and the top feet 12 into a plane parallel with the bottom feet'14, thus providing a finished clip after the two folding operations. It is noted that the entire forming process is continuous, and it is only necessary to load a plurality of blanks 18 into hopper 22 in order to provide a continuous output of the finished carrier clips 10 in spaced relation and completely formed The can carrier clips 10 may be fed on by the belt 24 or a modified form of the belt for can insertion as described in our aforesaid application Serial No. 146,641 may be used.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as V lying the upstanding blank and contacting the top edge of the blank to gradually form the top foot in the blank by contacting the. blank and causing it to bend about the heated bend line While the blank is being continuously conveyed by the conveyor means. 7

2. A can carrier clip forming machine for automatically and continuously forming fiatblanks into can carrier clips of the typehaving a pair of opposing feet formed from the single blank and connected by an intermediate portion, the feet being bent out of the plane ,of the blank at right angles along bend lines in the blank, the machine comprising; a hopper for containing a plurality of blanks stacked one upon'another, a conveyor for continuously transporting the blanks in fixed spaced apart relation, the

conveyor passing adjacent the hopper so that the can carrier clip flatblanks may be fed therefrom one at a time, a positive locating means on the conveyor for positively I locating each can carrier clip and holding the clips in spaced fixed apart relationship, a retainer runner overlying one edge'of the blanks with theedge of the runner at approximately a bend line in the blank, a heating element carried in the retaining runner adjacent the edge thereof for heating the blank to'a forming temperature in the vicinity of the bend point as the blanks arebeing transported by the conveyor means, a clipraising rail positioned adjacent the conveyor on the side thereof opposite the blank and extending in the direction of the conveyor toward the edge of the retaining runnerand upwardly so that it contacts the. underside of the blank and causes the blank to raise as it is being positively moved by the conveyor and thereby causing the blank to bend about its bend line to create one of the feet on the blank, a heating element contained within the upper edge of the clip raiser rail at the portion of the rail in the vicinity of the edge of the retainer runner, the heating element contacting the blank substantially along a bend line thereof for heating the blank along said bend line and a stationary top folding runner overlying the upstanding blank and contacting the top edge of the blank during the movement of the blank by the conveyor and constricting the blank to cause it to bend about the heated bend line .andform the top foot on the can carrier, the stationary top folding runner including a downwardly extending edge for engaging the blank.

' 3. A machine as defined in claim 2, wherein said positive locating means on the conveyor further comprises spring biased plugs carried by said conveyor and forming said positive folding and feeding means for said can carrier clips, and a stationary cam under the feed hopper for forcing said spring biased plug upwardly at a predetermined time so that said plug moves into the hole of the lowest flat blank in the hopper and moves the lowest blank out of the hopper without moving the other blanks out of the hopper.

4. A can carrier clip forming machine for automatically and continuously forming flat blanks into three dimensional can carrier clips of the type having a pair of opposing feet formed from a single blank and connected by an intermediate portion at right angles to the plane of the feet, the machine comprising; means for feeding said blanks one at a time, a conveyor means for receiving said fed blanks and for continuously transporting said blanks in a positive spaced relationship, a stationary retaining runner positioned over one half of one pair of feet of the clips on the conveyor for retaining one pair of feet of said blanks, a stationary clip raising rail contacting the underside of said clip while said clip is being transported by said conveyor to bend one of said pair of opposing feet out of the plane of the blank, and a stationary top folding runner positioned above the conveyor means to subsequently contact the upstanding portion of the blank and bend the other foot out of the plane of the blank to form the pair of opposing feet.

5. A can carrier clip forming machine for automatically and continuously forming fiat blanks into three-dimensional can carrier clips of the type having a pair of opposing feet with openings therein, the feet being in parallel planes and being connected by an integral upstanding inside portion at right angles to the plane of the feet, the machine comprising;

(a) a hopper for receiving a plurality of fiat blanks, (b) a conveyor passing below the hopper, (c) means on the conveyor for engaging the holes in a? the lowest blank in the hopper for positively engaging the same and feeding one blank at a time from the hopper in a positive manner,

(d) a stationary retainer runner positioned to overlie a portion of the conveyor and the mid-point of one of said pairs of feet on a flat carrier clip.

(2) a stationary clip raiser rail extending along the path of the conveyor and rising in the direction of travel of the conveyor from below the plane of the conveyed blank to a position in a vertical plane extending in the direction of the conveyor and positioned above the mid-point of the retained feet of the carrier clip, and

(f) a stationary top folding runner farther along in the direction of travel of the conveyor overlying a portion of the clip raiser rail and positioned to engage the upstanding feet and fold them down to a plane parallel to the retained feet, the fold being about the mid-point of the feet and being over a portion of the clip raiser rail. 1

6. A can carrier clip forming machine as defined in claim 5 wherein the means on the conveyor for engaging holes in the feet of the lowest blank comprises a plug, a spring mounting and biasing the plug to a position normally below the top plane of the conveyor and a stationary cam below the conveyor at the position of the holes in the blanks in the hopper to move the plug up from the plane of the conveyor to engage the holes in the lowest blank in the hopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Chandler June 13, 1961 

1. A CAN CARRIER CLIP FORMING MACHINE FOR AUTOMATICALLY AND CONTINUOUSLY FORMING CAN CARRIER CLIPS WITH OPPOSING FEET ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF A CENTRAL CONNECTING PORTION FROM FLAT BLANKS, THE MACHINE COMPRISING; MEANS OF FEEDING CAN CARRIER CLIP BLANKS FROM A STACK OF FLAT BLANKS ONE AT A TIME, CONVEYOR MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY TRANSPORTING THE BLANKS IN FIXED SPACED OF THE RELATIONSHIP, A RETAINING RUNNER OVERLYING ONE EDGE OF THE CONVEYOR AND THE BLANKS POSITIONED THEREIN WITH THE EDGE OF THE RUNNER AT A BEND LINE IN ONE FOOT OF THE BLANK, A HEATING ELEMENT IN THE RETAINING RUNNER FOR HEATING THE BLANK TO A FORMING TEMPERATURE IN THE VICINITY OF THE BEND POINT AS THE BLANKS ARE BEING TRANSPORTED BY THE CONVEYOR MEANS THEREUNDER, A CLIP RAISING RAIL POSITIONED ON THE SIDE OF THE CONVEYOR OPPOSITE THE RETAINING RUNNER GRADUALLY RAISING AND APPROACHNG THE EDGE OF THE RUNNER IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE CONVEYOR MEANS SO THAT THE RAIL CONTACTS THE CLIP BLANK AND FORCES THE CLIP BLANK TO BEND AT ITS HEATED BEND LINE TO CREATE ONE FOOT ON THE BLANK AND LEAVE THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE BLANK UPSTANDING, ANOTHER HEATING ELEMENT IN THE EDGE OF THE CLIP RAISER RAIL CONTACTING THE UPSTANDING PARTIALLY FORMED BLANK AND HEATING THIS PORTION OF THE BLANK IN THE AREA OF A BEND LINE FOR FORMING A TOP FOOT, AND A STATIONARY TOP FOLDING RUNNER OVERLYING THE UPSTANDING BLANK AND CONTACTING THE TOP EDGE OF THE BLANK TO GRADUALLY FORM THE TOP FOOT IN THE BLANK BY CONTACTING THE BLANK AND CAUSING IT TO BEND ABOUT THE HEATED BEND LINE WHILE THE BLANK IS BEING CONTINUOUSLY CONVEYED BY THE CONVEYOR MEANS. 